A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for securing the safety of an apparatus which makes use of the laser and an operator thereof, or more particularly, to a device for detecting a laser leak for electrically detecting a leakage of laser beam due to snapping of the laser guide which is provided for guiding the laser to a desired position.
B. Description of the Prior Art
A laser is a device which produces an intense, coherent directional beam of light by stimulating electronic, ionic or molecular transitions to lower energy levels. There are various kinds of laser, for example, gaseous laser such as a He-Ne laser, a solid laser such as a ruby laser and a YAG laser and a semiconductor laser such as a GaAs laser and these are widely applied in metal working, holography, or laser surgery. A laser guide comprising an optical fiber of a quartz fiber and a plastic coating of nylon thereon is used for guiding the laser beam from the laser source to a desired position such as a projector of the laser surgerical instrument. At first, a pilot beam of low-power range such as a gaseous laser is let in a laser guide in order to inspect the laser guide and the apparatus. After confirming the safety of the laser guide, the energized laser beam such as a YAG laser is let in to burn off a cancer or a polyp in a body cavity. But, there is still a possibility that the laser guide is snapped after the initial inspection. In that case, the energized laser beam leaks out to inflict harm upon the operator, patients and the apparatus itself. For this reason, leakage of the laser beam must be strictly detected.